You’re not alone…….I hold out till at least December 1st……. Went for a drive today to deliver a pair of valve covers I sold and made a new hot rod friend. The older I get the more I dread storage day.
I never winterize my cars. When I still rode motorcycles I tried to ride at least once a month, in Iowa that can be tricky. I don't drive 'em when there is wet snow/salt on the roads but there are usually times in Iowa I can slip one of them out for a quick drive somewhere. If you are in the country with gravel roads...well that's a little different.
It used to never bother me because I usually drove them as daily drivers and never thought twice about putting them up for the winter. But now that I’m older and have other dailies I am feeling the same way as you all. I put my 51 up last weekend and have a few maintenance things that I have to do but I would love to be able to sneak one of them put before spring
Look at the bright side.... now you can get out your snowblower for a few months of winter fun!! (the best two days of THIS former Wisconsin resident's life were the day I bought it and the day I gave it to my neighbor as I was moving back to God's country!!)
The "winter storage" my 48 Plymouth sees is it gets parked, outside, over on the side yard. I put it about 2 car widths off the drive way. That has been its winter storage place since it was first built in 2011. Usually, but mid winter, its snowed in, but its far enough away from the slated roads, it fares pretty well. Often times, in other years, I managed to take it for a short ride before the snow blocked it in, or after the snow melted enough I could get it out. This year we have put the extended antique plates on it, so Nov 1 through the end of March is a big no-no for a drive this year. Pictured is a previous year's winter storage. View attachment 6235619 When I built the 49 pickup, it was built with the intention of driving it all year around. This picture is from early winter, last year, the coupe spent that winter indoors and the truck sat outside. This year, the coupe will be back outside, and the truck will get to be in the heated garage until I need to go someplace. Being inside the heated garage means it gets a bath much more often in the winter.
After a near ticket event of spring fever (no legal plate or insurance) I've kept my current most often '40 Ford licensed and insured even if they didn't run. So I'm prepared and this year my '40 has the ability, if it can make it out of my steep driveway!
Just put mine away for the winter but not out of sight. Every winter I have a list of jobs I want to do. Upgrades, maintenence, reworking, bug fixing etc. I work on it most days over the winter months.
Somehow still need to fit the subcompact tractor with front end loader and the wife’s daily. Forecast still shows a couple weeks of nice weather though..don’t want to get in a rush putting things away!
My off topic 66 SS396 Chevelle, which is at my Moms house, I ride my 10 speed schwinn to her house (12 mile round trip) and use the chevelle to take her grocery shopping every wednesday.. and my 40 which is in the attached garage
Still having decent weather here in Pa. so I have not put the coupe away yet, when I do some more work on her will begin over the winter. I may get a few weeks yet of shredding the street tires.
The only good news about winter living in Minnesota or Wisconsin, is winter is the time to build/repair all the cars we drive in the too short summer.
This is the time of year I am thankful to live in the south where I never have to put a car away for the season. I was actually planning to get a “drive your car to work day” going one day this week.
Since Sat evening, we have put 215 miles on my 49 pickup, I expect to put nearly 200 miles on it by the end of this week too. But then, I will be driving it all winter as well. There are a few reasons we have normal plates on the truck. The coupe, however is parked for the winter, the Extended Antique plates I have on it says its not to be used between Nov 1st and March 1st.
Great answers, Enjoyed them. I have a fairly large (3) car garage/shop, but have to give the wife one stall for the winter. Center is full of my shop equipment, and other stall has my '49 Ford Project I am working on.....
The Jalopy Journal
